Why it works: Cinnamon and clove match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14,189 recipes. Both carry ethyl cinnamate, which smells sweet, balsamic. The science ↓
Pumpkin Pie
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point. The book gives no cooking times either; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Prepare and mix
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a bowl, mix the pumpkin, flour, cinnamon, cloves, sugar, and salt.
Add the beaten eggs and mix well.
Stir in the milk until combined.
Bake
Pour the mixture into a pie crust.
Bake for 45-50 minutes or until set.
Finish
Add the beaten egg whites on top before serving.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
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Cinnamon + clovetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,189 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
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Pumpkin + cinnamontop 4% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,744 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
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Flour + cinnamontop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,341 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Cinnamon + milktop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,655 recipes
Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
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Cinnamon + sugartop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together30,779 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Cinnamon and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 30,779 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Set the custard as they cook, giving the pie its firm structure.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and liquid that forms the smooth custard base.
- Pumpkin
- Provides the main flavour base and moisture for the filling.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and balances the spices.
- Flour
- Helps thicken the filling and give it body.
- Cinnamon
- Contributes warm aroma and flavour to the filling.
The step that matters
Bake until set. Eggs set as they heat, so the pie must bake until the centre is firm. Underbaking leaves a runny filling, while overbaking can cause cracking and a rubbery texture.
Swap the pumpkin
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, cinnamon, clove, sugar, egg, milk):
- Vanillafits better
- Raisinfits better
- Figfits better
- Pumpkinthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against flour, cinnamon, clove, sugar, egg, milk. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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